Enchanted

Chapter 17 - Deceived By One Of Our Own

CHAPTER 17 - DECEIVED BY ONE OF OUR OWN

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Avery woke up suddenly. Her body ached all over and looking around her she noticed she was in her own room again. Avery let out a shaky sigh and tried to convince herself it was going to be alright, but even she couldn't lie to herself with her mixed emotions. Avery felt her eyes water and she bit her lip to stop the tears from falling.

Slowly throwing the sheets back, Avery reluctantly got up and shook her head. So much happened in  a day and Avery was still coming to terms with most of it. Yet Avery's heart longed to hold Dylan but that spark she felt for him and that desire had long ago melted away, since she left Enchanted. As their soul-mating process was not complete, one heart-break resulted in the loss of each other. Avery knew she couldn't see Dylan again, and her heart started to ache causing the princess to break-down completely...

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Alex was still in shock. He left his soul-mate behind as she refused to accept him. Yet when he said he decided to leave with Avery, he saw in Selenita's eyes that she wanted him to stay. But he couldn't, she didn't want him. She specifically told him that and he stayed away from her or he'd be banished for ungentlemanly behaviour, and he couldn't go down that road again. 

When he and Avery and arrived back in Carcassone, she broke down and told him everything. He felt his heart hurt as not only did his soul-mate not want him but the person he actually loved, had the same feelings for someone else. Both had searched for the Enchanted box but it was no-where to be seen and they both faced that it was over with the other world. The conversation was minimal last night and Alex noticed that he still took on Dylan's body form despite being banished. The two of them stayed in her room till late and barely spoke, just random words here and there. Looking out of the window, Alex had noticed that some of the castle walls had been knocked down and that they were getting rebuilt. There was guards and builders all over the place and he also noticed down in the valley there was still smoke, meaning something was still burning.

Carcassone was left in ruins and he saw the damage himself when he took one of the horses for a ride. The place didn't look the same when he first came and everyone watched him with terror. He felt bad and decided to help the villagers and they all thanked him by giving him gifts of whatever produce they had left. Alex didn't feel he had the right to take the produce so with permission from the castle and the towns-people he donated it all to the poor who where very thankful. But Alex, still felt guilty, thinking of his deadly secret. If anyone found out about it, he would most certainly not see the light of another day.

When he arrived back at the stables, he noticed that Dennis was no-where to be seen and when he asked around, they said his name was not to be spoken within the castle ever again. Confused, Alex continued with his daily work, but not without attempting to check on Avery every once in  a while. The princess was unresponsive, not just to him but to everyone else. They all believed it was from the shock of the battle but none knew the real reason. 

Alex felt peckish so headed for the kitchen. He was caught up, once again in the mayhem of the culinary life and he ended up peeling potatoes again. Looking around, Alex noticed that Edith had disappeared too and now a new lady had replaced her. Estelle was younger and very pretty and Alex couldn't help but feel a slight attraction towards her. She was charming and humorous and he could also tell she was very shy. After gazing at the young beauty before him for awhile, he realized that an angry cook stood above him, saying something to him in French. Alex then noticed he hadn't peeled one potato and so apologized and blushed as he quickly peeled the sack of potatoes before him. A shadow stood over him and Alex rolled his eyes.